Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

Shamrock lowered his hands from his chest and stood up straight:

You can't escape.

Sheng Ren didn't speak again. He raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing Shamrock's chest.

"Bang—"

The flames shot out, the white flames compressed into a beam, and crashed straight into it.

Shamlock dodged to the side, the flames grazing his shoulder before striking the iron cabinet three meters behind him, instantly turning the cabinet door into molten iron.

He didn't look at the cabinet, but stared at Sheng Ren's hands.

"This fire," he said, "is exactly the same as the one on Kizaru's wound."

Sheng Ren didn't reply. He took a step forward, swung his right fist from his side, the fist coated with white flames, and smashed it toward Shamrock's face.

Shamrock raised his hand to block.

Fists collided with a dull thud. He slid half a step back, his shoe soles scraping black marks on the floor. A patch of his sleeve was charred, revealing his forearm, where a faint red mark was healing at a visible speed.

Sheng Ren glanced at the red mark but said nothing.

Shamrock took a step forward and threw a punch back.

This punch was much faster than the last one. Sheng Ren dodged to the side, the wind from the punch grazing his face and stinging his skin. He retaliated with an elbow strike, the tip of which was flaming, slamming into Shamlock's ribs.

Shamlock grunted and took two steps back. He glanced down at his ribs; his clothes had burned a hole through them, revealing charred skin with blood seeping from the edges.

He reached out and pressed the charred piece, his fingers getting covered in bits of flesh and blood.

"It's healing slowly," he looked up at Sheng Ren, "Interesting."

Sheng Ren frowned.

Shamlock wiped his fingers, still covered in scorch marks, on his trousers, straightened up, and stretched his shoulders.

"Again."

Sheng Ren didn't move.

"You deliberately made me burn it."

Shamlock didn't answer. He took a step forward and punched Sheng Ren in the face.

Sheng Ren dodged to the side, then threw a backhand punch, accompanied by even more intense white flames, which landed directly on Shamrock's left shoulder.

"laugh--"

The flames licked it, instantly burning through the clothes, and the skin underneath began to char, blister, and carbonize, layer by layer, rolling inwards.

Shamlock looked down at his left shoulder, neither dodging nor retaliating.

Sheng Ren's fist was still on his shoulder, and the fire was still raging.

He looked at Shamrock's face.

There was no pain on his face; it looked exactly like Sheng Ren's expression when he was doing experiments, staring at the test tube and waiting for the reaction.

In an instant, his left shoulder was gone, and ten centimeters down from the shoulder, his entire arm vanished. The cut was charred black, with blood seeping from the edges. The blood that had just seeped out was evaporated by the residual heat, leaving a wisp of white smoke.

Shamrock frowned slightly.

The muscles at the break began to twitch. It was as if something was burrowing under the skin, muscle fibers re-weaving one by one, blood vessels growing out from the break, meandering forward, and then bone, white, pushing outward from the shoulder stub—

three seconds.

A full left arm has been restored.

Shamlock raised his new arm, turned it over to look at his palm, then at the back of his hand, and clenched his fist.

The bone cracked.

He lowered his hand and looked up at Sheng Ren.

"It's no use," he said, his voice flat, "it can still recover."

Sheng Ren pulled his fist back, and the flames went out.

He looked at Shamrock's new arm for two seconds.

Are you sick?

Shamrock didn't answer. He raised his left hand and flexed his wrist. It was flexible, the joint turning freely.

"Kizaru's wounds haven't healed yet," he said. "I've seen the Flame-Flame Fruit before. Akainu has burned many people, but none like Kizaru. Yours won't heal."

Sheng Ren stared at him.

"So you really are sick?"

Shamrock nodded:

"That's right," a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes, "I'm sick."

Sheng Ren remained silent for two seconds.

"You knew who I was from the beginning."

“I saw you once when you were escorting the goods,” Shamrock said. “Coincidentally, I have a good memory.”

Sheng Ren didn't say anything.

"But I've seen Kizaru's injuries, and they can't be healed by normal means," he said, raising his left hand and turning it in front of the light.

"This arm has just grown back, and it looks exactly the same as before," he said. "Believe it or not, even if I cut off my whole head, it could grow back."

Sheng Ren looked at him.

“Immortality,” Shamlock said, “is not a curse.”

Sheng Ren's eyes flickered:

"You actually want to get rid of Im? There's no way there's someone like you among the Celestial Dragons."

Shamlock glanced at Sheng Ren with some surprise, but didn't ask any further questions.

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Sheng Ren suddenly asked, "Why don't you go find him?"

Shamlock stared at him sharply, his hand already on the hilt of his sword:

"Which 'him'?"

"Why not use the strongest Conqueror's Haki instead of trying out my Flame-Flame Fruit?" Sheng Ren seemed oblivious to the sudden tension in the atmosphere.

As for who he is, he is none other than Shanks, Shamrock's younger brother.

"I was thinking that if you could actually burn that thing off, I would let you go," Shamrock said. "If you can't burn it off, I'll have to catch you."

He paused.

"But now, I'm letting you go!"

Sheng Ren didn't move.

He looked at Shamrock as if he were looking at a madman who had suddenly changed his expression.

"You're letting me go?"

Shamrock removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.

"Before I change my mind."

Sheng Ren stared into his eyes, and there was nothing superfluous in them, just one sentence: Really.

Why?

Shamrock didn't answer; he turned his head and glanced towards the corridor.

There were many footsteps, and they were getting closer and closer.

"Don't ask," he said, "stand behind me."

Sheng Ren didn't move.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" His right hand hung at his side. "Stand behind you, waiting for you and the others to coordinate from the inside?"

Shamrock glanced at him.

"I want to catch you, I don't need to wait for anyone."

Sheng Ren didn't respond.

The footsteps grew closer; there were at least seven or eight people.

"Hurry up," Shamlock said.

Sheng Ren took a step forward.

This step was slow. He kept his eyes fixed on Shamrock's back, his right hand secretly gathering strength. As soon as Shamrock's shoulder moved, he would burn through the one in front of him first, then burn the group behind him.

Two steps.

He stood less than half a meter behind Shamrock.

At this distance, Shamlock turned and swung his sword. Shamlock couldn't dodge it, but his fire would burn through his opponent.

Shamrock did not turn around.

The door was pushed open.

The one leading the group, wearing the standard cloak of the Knights of God, had a long face, prominent cheekbones, and eagle-like eyes—Somaz Saint.

He was followed by eight people: four members of the Knights and four CP staff.

Somaz saw Shamrock the first time he entered, and Shengren the second time.

He placed his hand on the hilt of the knife.

"Saint Shamlock," he said, "who is behind you?"

Shamrock did not move aside:

"My people."

Somaz stared at Sheng Ren.

"He's a CP employee," he said, "but I've never seen him before."

Shamrock did not move aside:

"My new hire."

Somaz's eyebrows twitched.

"You're hiring?" he said. "Do you need to be outside the classified vault in the middle of the night to hire people?"

Shamlock looked at him but didn't reply.

Somaz waited three seconds, but when he didn't get an explanation, he looked away from Shamrock's face and then at Sheng Ren.

He scanned her from top to bottom, from her face to her feet.

Sheng Ren stood still, his right hand hanging at his side.

"Newly hired," Somaz said. "What's his name?"

Morihito said, "Inoue."

Somaz stared at him.

"Inoue," he repeated, "Inoue of CP9?"

Sheng Ren did not answer.

Shamrock spoke up: "Are you checking someone's household registration?"

Somaz turned to look at him.

"Saint Shamlock," he said, "this man appeared at the entrance of the secret vault in the middle of the night. You said he was a new recruit, so it's not unreasonable for me to ask his name, is it?"

"That's going too far," said Shamrock.

Somaz was taken aback.

Shamlock took a step forward, and now the distance between him and Somaz was less than a meter.

"I'm hiring," he said, "do I need your permission?"

Somaz looked at him, his hand still on the hilt of his knife.

After staring at each other for a moment, he finally removed his hand from the hilt of the knife.

"Need not."

"Then what are you still standing there for?"

Somaz didn't move, nor did the eight men behind him.

Shamrock glanced at them:

"Should I deliver it?"

Somaz took a step back:

"Walk."

He turned and brushed past Shamrock. When he reached the door, he paused and glanced back at Sheng Ren.

Then he pushed open the door and left.

The eight people followed them out, their footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

The door closed, and the room became quiet.

Shamlock stood still, listened to the footsteps for a few seconds, and only after confirming that they were far away did he turn around and look at Sheng Ren:

"You can leave now."

Sheng Ren didn't move.

Shamrock waited two seconds.

"What," he said, "still want to fight?"

Sheng Ren looked at him.

"Where is the Mother Flame?"

Shamlock paused for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"The Mother Flame," Sheng Ren said, "take me to find her."

Shamlock looked at him for three seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"You fucking," he laughed, shaking his head, "you want me to lead you to steal from your own house?"

Sheng Ren didn't laugh.

"It's Im's stuff," he said.

Shamrock's smile faded slightly.

"Your home?" Sheng Ren said. "Your home was God Valley, which was bombed flat more than 30 years ago. The place you are standing here is Im's territory."

Shamrock didn't say anything.

"You," Sheng Ren said, "your father, the Five Elders," he paused, "were all servants."

Shamlock looked at him.

The light from the corridor shone through the crack in the door, illuminating half of his face, which remained expressionless.

"Servant," he repeated.

Sheng Ren didn't respond.

Shamlock remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned around, walked towards the other end of the corridor, took two steps, and stopped.

"Keep up."

Sheng Ren lifted his foot and followed.

……

"You Celestial Dragons are really rich," Sheng Ren said, somewhat speechless as he looked at the dazzling array of treasures, each one of which could easily cause a Yonko to break their heads.

This was a huge hall, so huge that it seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. The dome was over ten meters high, and every twenty meters there was a stone pillar, carved with the emblem of the Celestial Dragons.

On the left shelf were at least a hundred Devil Fruits, neatly arranged, each with a slip of paper underneath bearing the name and year. On the right shelf were dozens of knives, some sheathed, some bare, their blades gleaming coldly under the light.

Sheng Ren's eyes swept across the shelves, past the Devil Fruits, past the swords, past the ores, and finally stopped at the deepest part of the hall.

The wall was made of glass, and behind the glass stood a pillar with a palm-sized tray on top, on which sat a crystal shaped like a soccer ball.

The crystal seemed to contain a flowing golden sea, emitting a faint light. This was the Mother Spark that Sheng Ren had been longing for. After countless experiments with Vegapunk, the Mother Spark was much smaller than in the original story, but its uses were far greater.

Shamrock turned around and looked at him:

"Here it is," he said. "Take it yourself."

Sheng Ren looked at him.

"And you?"

"I'm leaving."

"Walk?"

Shamrock nodded.

"That guy in the well, and the one in the archives, we have to deal with them," he said. "Otherwise, if they investigate at dawn and find your face, I'll be the first one they suspect."

Sheng Ren stared at him.

"You're letting me carry it all by myself?"

"right."

"What if something goes wrong?"

Shamlock looked at him for three seconds.

"I'll be the first to mess with you," he said.

Sheng Ren didn't say anything.

“Im values ​​this very much,” Shamrock said. “If I help you get it, he’ll be the first to know. Then, forget about letting you go; I’ll have to go in myself.”

Sheng Ren looked at him.

"So you brought me here, and then just let go?"

Shamrock nodded:

"Remember you owe me a favor," he said, turning and walking towards the door.

After taking two steps, I stopped.

"Oh, right," he said without turning around, "I'll emphasize this again. Im values ​​the Mother Flame very much. If you make a move, someone will know immediately. Take as much as you can from here, and run. If you can't get away, that's your problem."

He continued walking forward.

"Don't die too soon," he said.

The door opened, then closed again.

Shamrock is gone.

Only Sheng Ren remained in the hall, looking at the Mother Flame, and then...

"Bang—"

The glass is broken.

He stepped over the debris, walked to the pillar, reached out, and grasped the Mother Flame.

hot.

He didn't let go.

The entire hall trembled the moment the crystal was removed from the tray.

He stuffed the crystal into his pocket, turned and ran. As he ran past the shelf of Devil Fruits, he grabbed two and stuffed them into his pocket.

As I rushed out of the classified vault, all the lights in the corridor went out.

Behind me, the alarm sounded.

……

In the office, the five elders simultaneously looked up.

The teacup in Jin Xing's hand stopped in mid-air, and the tea sloshed slightly.

Jupiter turned its head, looking towards the deepest part of Pangu City.

Saturn placed his hand on the table: "The Mother Fire," he said, "has been moved."

Jin Xing put down her teacup: "Who?"

Mercury stood up: "Who else could it be but Sheng Ren?"

Mars walked to the window and looked towards the direction of the Land of the Gods, where a beam of fire shot into the sky:

"No matter what, we must capture him alive; the incinerator is still in his hands."

……

Shamrock emerged from the archives, his sword still dripping blood.

Suddenly, he paused for a moment, then quickly walked a few steps to the window and looked outside.

From the direction of the land of the gods, flames soared into the sky.

At that moment, a person in a white robe came forward to greet them; it was CP0.

When the man saw Shamrock, he immediately stopped and knelt down on one knee.

"Saint Shamlock!"

Shamrock ignored him and ran past him.

"explain!"

The man knelt on the ground, turned his head, and shouted at his back:

"The Land of the Gods has been invaded! The Mother Flame has been stolen! The Five Elders request your immediate action!"

Shamlock paused for a moment.

He didn't turn around.

"understood."

Then he kept running.

He ran through the corridors, through the stairs, through door after door. People along the way saw him and quickly moved aside, kneeling down.

He ignored it.

He had only one thought in his mind:

"Damn it, Shengren, you took my stuff and burned down my house!"